It all started in 610 A.D., the angel Gabriel appeared to a man named Muhammad in the city of Mecca in present day Saudi Arabia. Gabriel told Muhammad that God had commissioned Muhammad as His last prophet. The revelations Muhammad received until he died in 632 found the Qur'an, Islam's holy book. Muhammad believed that he was completing the first religion of humanity, and that he stood in the way of the Biblical prophets who had also been sent by God to call people to submit to God.
Islam is the name of the religion. A Muslim is the name of a member of the Islamic religion. The word Muslim means "one who submits to God." A Muslim isn't a Mohammedan, and Muslims don't belong to a Mohammedan religion, because Muhammad is only a man. Muslims worship God and not Muhammad.
There are Five Pillars of the basic Islamic worship. Muslims must believethat only God is God is Muhammad is his messenger. Five times a day they stop what ever it is they're doing to pray for God. Once a year, in the month of Ramadan, they feast from dawn to dusk. Each year, they give a big portion of their wealth to serve God's purposes to them. And once in a lifetime, each Muslim who is able must make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Islam has two main branches: the Sunnis and the Shi´ites. Sunnis constitute from 84 to 90 percent of the world's Muslims. The term "Sunni" refers to the traditions followed by Muhammad and the earlier Muslims. Sufis are another big group of Muslims. Sufism is Islamic mysticism, other than a sect, like Sunnis or Shi´ites. So, a Sufi is normally also a Sunni or more rarely, a Shi´ite Muslim. Many Sufi orders exist just like many monastic orders exist in Roman Catholicism.
As much as Marji hates having to be Islamic, she had to get used to it because there was nothing she could do about it. Because she had to wear the veil sometimes she would put her own style into her veil. She got introuble wearing a jacket with a Michael Jackson button on it by two nuns.
Islam is the name of the religion. A Muslim is the name of a member of the Islamic religion. The word Muslim means "one who submits to God." A Muslim isn't a Mohammedan, and Muslims don't belong to a Mohammedan religion, because Muhammad is only a man. Muslims worship God and not Muhammad.
There are Five Pillars of the basic Islamic worship. Muslims must believethat only God is God is Muhammad is his messenger. Five times a day they stop what ever it is they're doing to pray for God. Once a year, in the month of Ramadan, they feast from dawn to dusk. Each year, they give a big portion of their wealth to serve God's purposes to them. And once in a lifetime, each Muslim who is able must make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Islam has two main branches: the Sunnis and the Shi´ites. Sunnis constitute from 84 to 90 percent of the world's Muslims. The term "Sunni" refers to the traditions followed by Muhammad and the earlier Muslims. Sufis are another big group of Muslims. Sufism is Islamic mysticism, other than a sect, like Sunnis or Shi´ites. So, a Sufi is normally also a Sunni or more rarely, a Shi´ite Muslim. Many Sufi orders exist just like many monastic orders exist in Roman Catholicism.
As much as Marji hates having to be Islamic, she had to get used to it because there was nothing she could do about it. Because she had to wear the veil sometimes she would put her own style into her veil. She got introuble wearing a jacket with a Michael Jackson button on it by two nuns.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm
http://www.islamondemand.com/30_facts.html
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/fastfacts.htm